Blister card package

ABSTRACT

A blister-type card package designed for display on a peg rack, which package is characterized by a flat base-forming card member having an aperture in which a product is positioned, the product being enclosed between a pair of tray-like transparent blisterforming members which have peripheral flanges sealed in overlying relation to portions of the base-forming card which extend about the aperture, the one blister member being seated in the aperture so that a portion of the product projects beyond the back face of the card and the other blister member covering a portion of the product which projects beyond the front face of the card. The packages are supplied for mounting on a peg rack with the product accommodating apertures in alternate packages being offset so that the projecting front and back portions of the product in adjacent packages are in non-aligned relation when hung on a peg, enabling a degree of nesting which results in a greater number of packages being accommodated on a peg, and also enabling a plurality of the packages to be packed in nested relation in a shipping container with provision for opening the container so that the packages may be readily placed as a group on the peg rack.

United States Patent [191 Seyer ]March 20, 1973 1 BLISTER CARD PACKAGE[75] Inventor: Anthony W. Seyer, New Canaan,

Conn.

[73] Assignees Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, Morris Plains, NJ.

[22] Filed: July 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 158,841

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 869,012, Oct. 2,1969, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. ..206/65 R, 206/65 K, 229/51 DB [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 5/54,B65d 77/04 [58] Field of Search ..206/65 R; 229/51 DB [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,307,693 3/1967 Bittner....' ..206/78 B3,407,928 10/1968 Watts, .Ir.. .....206/78 B 3,187,889 6/1965 Sinclair..206/65 R 1,772,625 8/1930 Caulfield ..229/5l DB X FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 1,183,269 1/1959 France ..229/51 DB PrimaryExaminer-Leonard Summer Att0rneyJames F. Powers, Jr. et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A blister-type card package designed for display on a pegrack, which package is'characterized by a flat base-forming card vmemberhaving an aperture in which a product is positioned, the product beingenclosed between a pair of tray-like transparent blisterforming memberswhich have peripheral flanges sealed in overlying relation to portionsof the baseforming card which extend about the aperture, the one blistermember being seated in the aperture so that a portion of the productprojects beyond the back face of the card and the other blister membercovering a portion of the product which projects beyond the front faceof the card. The packages are supplied for mounting on a peg rack withthe product accommodating apertures in alternate packages being offsetso that the projecting front and back' portions of the product inadjacent packages are in non-aligned relation when hung on a peg,enabling a degree of nesting which results in a greater number ofpackages being accommodated on a peg, and also enabling a plurality ofthe packages to be packed in nested relation in a shipping containerwith provision for opening the container so that the packages may bereadily placed as a group on the peg rack.

3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmzoms 3,7 1,339

INVENTOR ANTHONY W SE YER BLISTER CARD PACKAGE This application is adivision of application Ser. No. 869,012, filed Oct. 24, 1969, now US.Pat. No.

This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concernedwith improvements in a blister-type package which is especially adaptedfor display on a peg rack or similar support.

In the marketing of a number of products, generally of relatively smallsize, which it is desired to display on a counter or the like, one formof package which has been widely used is the so-called blister cardpackage which comprises a backing card having mounted thereon atray-like cover member, or blister, usually formed from a transparentfilm, which encloses the product or cooperates with a portion of thecard in enclosing the product in a pocket'and holds iton the card. Thecover member or blister generally has a peripheral flange which issealed to the front face of the card and the card is provided with oneor more apertures for mounting on one or more supporting pegs. Also thecard is usually larger than the blister so that there is some space foraccommodating advertising copy, or the like. In the use of this typepackage, the number of identical packages which may be accommodated on apeg rack is, of course, limited by the maximum thickness of the packagein the area of the blister since adjacent packages when supported on apeg will have the blisters aligned. When the maximum thickness of thepackage is substantial, the result is that frequent replenishment of thesupply of packages is necessary and when the blister is positioned nearthe bottom edge which is usually the case, the cards tend to curl, as aresult of crowding on the peg support, which detracts from theappearance of the packages and is undesirable. It is a general object ofthe invention, therefore, to provide a blister-type card package ofimproved construction, which is better adapted for marketing, as adisplay item on a peg rack, than the packages of this type which havebeen provided heretofore.

- A more specific object of the invention is to provide improvements ina blister card type package which, among other advantages enables alarger number of the packages to be attractively displayed at one timeon a supporting hook or on a single peg of a peg rack and therebyeliminates the need for too frequent replenishment of the supplythereof.

back faces thereof enabling a plurality of the cards to be positioned ona peg with the projecting portions of the product on adjacent cards inside by' side nonaligned relation, so that a larger number of packagesare accommodated on the peg and less frequent replenishment of thesupply thereof is required.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a blister-typepackage which is adapted to be formed with the blister in two differentlocations so that packages may be grouped in alternate relation on a pegrackor in a shipping container with adjacent packages having the blisterportions nested and a plurality of the I blister-type package in whichthe base-forming card faces of the card and substantially all sides ofthe product are visible for inspection.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a blister-typepackage in which the supporting card is apertured to receive the productwhich is enclosed in a blister formed by two tray-like members havingperipheral flanges of different widths with the blister member havingthe smaller flange seated in the aperture so as to extend beyond theopposite or back face of the card and the blister member with the largerflange being arranged on the front face of the card with the flangeoverlying the narrower flange of the cooperating blister member andsealed to the face of the card so as to trap the narrower flange andhold the two blister members in position on the card.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the blister card package and the use thereofwhich is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing the front face of a blister cardpackage which embodies the principal features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. I, to anenlarged scale, the view showing portions of two adjacent blister cardpackages as they appear when supported on a peg rack;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the separateelements which constitute one form of the blister card package;

'FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing a plurality of packages arranged ona peg rack, with alternate packages having the blisters located inoffset relation;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of anassembly of the packages on a peg support so as to accommodate a maximumnumber of packages on the peg;

FIG. 7 is a perspective of a shipping container in which a plurality ofthe packages are enclosed in nested relation;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner in whichthe shipping container is opened to enable the nested packages to beslid onto a peg rack while they are supported in the tray portion of theshipping container; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a group of the packagesin nested relation on the peg rack with the tray portion of the shippingcontainer slid out from under the packages.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, there is illustrated a package10 incorporating the principal features of the invention which isparticularly adapted for the packaging of razor blades, razors andsimilar products so as to enable a plurality of the packaged products tobe attractively displayed on a peg rack or similar support where theyare available, for example, as a self-service item on a counter or otherdisplay area. The invention is, of course, not limited to the marketingof razors and associated products but may be advantageously employed inthe marketing of various other products which it is desirable to displayin an attractive manner and make readily available to the store clerk orcustomer.

The package 10 comprises, in the form shown in FIGS. l-4, a backingboard 12 which is in the form of a rectangular sheet of cardboard orother suitable sheet material of appropriate size for the product beingpackaged and having an aperture 14 in which the product 16 is positionedwith the product being enclosed in a blister 18. The blister comprisestwo traylike members 20 and 22, which are preformed of a suitabletransparent plastic material to provide pocket receiving recesses 24 and26 with marginal flanges 28 and 30, the flange 28 of the one blistermember 20 being of larger width than the flange 30 of the other blistermember 22. The blister members 20 and 22 are adapted to be placed aboutthe product 16 in face-toface relation with the flanges 28 and 30overlying each other. The assembly is located in the recess or aperture14 in the backing card 12 with the one blister member 22 seated in theaperture 14 so that the tray portion thereof projects from the back face32 of the backing board 12. The flange 28 of larger width is sealedagainst the front face 34 of the backing board 12, as indicated at 36,so as to trap the flange 30 of the blister member 22 and secure theassembly 18 in the aperture 14. The aperture 14 is located in the topportion of the backing board 12 and the board 12 is of sufficient sizeto provide a margin about the blister assembly 18 for sealing theflanges 28 and 30 and a space of substantial dimensions for receivingadvertising, as indicated at 38. Holes 40 are provided in the uppermargin of the backing board for receiving pegs 42 (FIGS. and 6) of a pegrack or the like.

In the form of the package 10, which is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, theblister assembly 18 is set in an aperture 14 which is located in the topportion of the backing board 12, the board having top and bottom edges44 and 46, respectively, with the the peg receiving holes 40 beingaligned transversely of the board and spaced to receive a center peg(not shown) or a pair of spaced pegs 42 as shown in FIG. 6. Another formof the package, indicated at in FIGS. 5 to 10, has the same constructionas the package 10 except for the location of the aperture 14 relative tothe top and bottom edges 44 and 46. The blister receiving aperture 14'is located in the lower portion of the backing board 12' with the topportion of the backing board accommodating advertising material whichmay be of the same character as indicated at 38 in FIG. 1. The apertures40' for receiving the supporting pegs 42 are arranged along the topmargin of the board 12 in the same manner as the apertures 40 in FIG. 1.Other features of the package which are the same as in the package 10are indicated by the same numerals primed.

The blister receiving apertures 14 and 14' are located on the respectivebacking boards 12 and 12 relative to the top and bottom edges 44, 46 and44', 46 so that when packages 10 and 10 are arranged in alternatesuspended relation on pegs 42, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the portionsof the blister assemblies 18 and 18' which project from the confrontingfront and back faces respectively of adjacent backing boards 12 and 12'will be in side-by-side, or nested relation. This enables approximatelytwice the number of packages to be accommodated on the same length ofpeg support as can be accommodated when the blisters project from oneside only of the board.'Also the alternate nesting arrangementeliminates any crowding of the packages on the peg support at the top ofthe backing boards which, in the package arrangements heretoforeprovided, results in undesirable curling or bending of the backingboards.

The arrangement of the packages 10 and 10' in altemate, nested relationalso enables the packing of a supply of the packages in nested relationin a shipping container so that the latter may be opened and thepackages slid onto a peg support, in a group, for removal from theshipping container. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 the shipping or storagecontainer 50 is constructed so as to serve not only as a shippingcontainer but also as a supporting tray for holding the packages in theproper nested relation for loading onto a peg rack in a quick andconvenient manner. The container 50 which may be, for example, apaperboard carton, is of rectangular cross section and of a sizesufficient to receive a stack of the packages 10, 10 which are arrangedin alternate, nested relation, as shown, with the peg receivingapertures 40, 40' at the top. The container 50 is provided with a tearstrip or tape 52 which extends about a middle portion of three sides ofthe container 50, down along the end corners at 54 and across the bottomend corner so that by removal of the tear strip 52, 54 the container 50is divided into a top cover portion 56 and a bottom tray portion 58, thelatter having an open back end 60 as shown in FIG. 9. The entire backwall 62 of the container remains on the top cover portion 56 leaving theback of the bottom tray portion 58 open at 60 so as to enable thepackages to be slid onto the peg support 42 while they are still in agroup in the tray portion 58 after which the tray portion 58 may beremoved or withdrawn in a forward direction without disturbing anythingwhich may be displayed immediately below the peg support on which thepackages are being placed. The container 50 may, of course, be modified,for example, by dividing the end wall 62 in the same manner as the otherthree side walls and providing for breaking out or tearing out theportion remaining on the bottom 58 so as to free the packages 10, 10'for removal by sliding the same from the end of the tray portion 58 inthe same manner as shown in FIG. 9.

What is claimed is:

1. A package assembly comprising a stack of packages which are eachcharacterized by a relatively stiff, generally planar structure and anarticle enclosed in a blister member mounted on said structure withportions thereof extending on opposite sides of the plane of saidstructure, said package each having one or more peg receiving apertureswhich apertures are in aligned relation, alternate packages in saidstack having the blister members disposed in offset relation on therespective structures so that the portions of the blister members onconfronting faces of adjacent packages are disposed in nested relationin the space between the structures thereof and said packages havingtheir botsaid open side.

2. A package assembly as set forth in claim 1 and the container whichencloses the stack of packages being of rectangular cross section, andsaid tear strip means extending intermediate the top and bottom edgesalong three side walls, down along the ends of oppositely disposed sidewalls at one end of the container and across the bottom wall at said oneend whereby removal of said tear strip means divides the container intotop and bottom sections.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the planar structure is a card memberforming a backing board.

1. A package assembly comprising a stack of packages which are eachcharacterized by a relatively stiff, generally planar structure and anarticle enclosed in a blister member mounted on said structure withportions thereof extending on opposite sides of the plane of saidstructure, said package each having one or more peg receiving apertureswhich apertures are in aligned relation, alternate packages in saidstack having the blister members disposed in offset relation on therespective structures so that the portions of the blister members onconfronting faces of adjacent packages are disposed in nested relationin the space between the structures thereof and said packages havingtheir bottom edges substantially in a common plane, and a containerenclosing said stack of packages, said container having continuous tearstrip means for dividing the same into top and bottom sections with theresultant bottom section being in the form of a tray having a surface onwhich the bottom edges of the packages rest and having at least one sidethereof removed to enable the packages to be placed on a peglike supportmember in a group and thereafter slid out of the tray through saiD openside.
 2. A package assembly as set forth in claim 1 and the containerwhich encloses the stack of packages being of rectangular cross section,and said tear strip means extending intermediate the top and bottomedges along three side walls, down along the ends of oppositely disposedside walls at one end of the container and across the bottom wall atsaid one end whereby removal of said tear strip means divides thecontainer into top and bottom sections.
 3. The assembly of claim 1wherein the planar structure is a card member forming a backing board.